Back in 2003, a 20-year-old Henry Cavill was still a struggling young actor. He had only a few small roles under his belt, but when he got the chance to audition for the TV remake of The Lion in Winter opposite the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart, he knew this could change everything.

Cavill prepared for weeks. He memorized every line perfectly. Standing in front to one of the greatest actors alive – the man who played Captain Picard and Professor X – was a dream come true. But dreams can quickly turn into nightmares.

The moment he entered the room and saw Sir Patrick Stewart sitting there, calm and majestic, Cavill completely froze. His mind went blank. He forgot everything. He stumbled, mumbled, and delivered what he later called “the worst audition of my life.”

He walked out completely destroyed. On the phone with his agent, he said the role was lost. While walking the streets of London, tears in his eyes, he seriously considered quitting acting forever. He even thought about joining the British Army – anything but facing more rejection.

In that darkest moment, something inside him refused to give up. He told his agent: “Get me back in that room. I’m not ending my chance with Patrick Stewart like this.” Against all odds, his agent managed to arrange a second audition.

Cavill returned, still shaking, but this time he gave a decent performance. He didn’t get the role, but something far more important happened. As he finished reading, Sir Patrick Stewart looked at him with kind eyes and said calmly: “Just calm down, son. You’ll get control of the role.” Those few words struck Henry Cavill like lightning. That simple sentence from a living legend became the turning point of his entire life.

From that day forward, every time he felt nervous – every big audition, every huge role – he heard Sir Patrick’s voice in his head: Just calm down. You’ll get control of it.

He carried that advice through countless rejections, through years of waiting, until one day he walked into a room and became Superman.

In 2020, during Variety’s Actors on Actors, Henry Cavill sat across from Sir Patrick Stewart again. With emotion in his voice, he retold the story and thanked him: “You gave me strength that has lasted my entire career.”

Sir Patrick smiled warmly. He didn’t even remember saying it, but to Cavill, those words had saved him.

Today, Henry Cavill is one of the biggest stars on the planet – Superman, Geralt of Rivia, Sherlock Holmes, Mission: Impossible – a true leading man known for his incredible composure under pressure.

Yet he never forgets where that strength came from. One terrible audition. One moment of almost giving up. One sentence from a kind legend. “Just calm down, son. You’ll get control of the role.” And he did.

He controlled every role after that… all the way to the top of Hollywood. Never forget: sometimes the moment you want to quit is exactly one sentence away from the advice that will change your life forever.